reecaspieces

Overview

From the NYT bestselling author comes a chilling new thriller about a ritualistic murder of a college professor that sends a small town cop back into the trauma she thought she’d put behind her.

Officer Miranda Rader of the Hammond PD in Louisiana is known for her honesty, integrity, and steady hand in a crisis—but that wasn’t always so. Miranda comes from Jasper, just south of Hammond, a place about the size of a good spit on a hot day, and her side of the tracks was the wrong one. She’s worked hard to leave the girl she used to be behind and earn respect in her position as an officer.

However, when Miranda and her partner are called to investigate the murder of one of the town’s most beloved college professors, they’re unprepared for the gruesomeness of the scene. This murder is unlike any they’ve ever investigated, and just when Miranda thinks she’s seen the worst of it, she finds a piece of evidence that chills her to the core: a faded newspaper clipping about a terrible night from her long-buried past. Then another man turns up dead, this one a retired cop, and not just any cop—Clint Wheeler, the cop who took her statement that night. Two murders, two very different men, two killings that on the surface had nothing in common—except Miranda. 14 years ago.

And when her fingerprints turn up at the scene of the first murder, Miranda once again finds herself under the microscope, her honesty and integrity doubted, her motivations questioned. Alone again, the trust of her colleagues shattered, Miranda must try to trust the instincts she’s pushed down for so long, and decide what’s right—before it’s too late.

Review

Miranda has overcome a lot in her life. She was attacked when she was young, arrested for pot, sent to juvie, and basically disowned by her family. She overcame all these things to become a detective. But, her past has come back to haunt her and take her down.

Miranda was raised hard and she is a tough, no nonsense detective. So of course I related to her right away…strong women hit the right spot with me. She is living in a mans world determined to overcome and she succeeds. Then a murder occurs. One which cause so much havoc and trauma she may lose all of what she has achieved.

I hate it when innocent people are accused of something they did not do. It frustrates the devil out of me. I know this type of plot makes a good storyline and it works! I just read faster and faster trying to get Miranda out of this mess. Which is exactly what the author intended.

This is a fast paced read. If I had not been working, I probably would have finished this in one sitting. This has a wonderful rhythm. However, it is just a regular mystery. I very seldom mention the price of a book…that is up to the reader on whether it is worth their money. But, $12.99 for this ebook. Not sure it is worth that money.

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review.

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Overview

Beloved author Molly Harper launches a brand-new contemporary romance series, Southern Eclectic, with this story of a big-city party planner who finds true love in a small Georgia town.

Nestled on the shore of Lake Sackett, Georgia is the McCready Family Funeral Home and Bait Shop. (What, you have a problem with one-stop shopping?) Two McCready brothers started two separate businesses in the same building back in 1928, and now it’s become one big family affair. And true to form in small Southern towns, family business becomes everybody’s business.

Margot Cary has spent her life immersed in everything Lake Sackett is not. As an elite event planner, Margot’s rubbed elbows with the cream of Chicago society, and made elegance and glamour her business. She’s riding high until one event goes tragically, spectacularly wrong. Now she’s blackballed by the gala set and in dire need of a fresh start—and apparently the McCreadys are in need of an event planner with a tarnished reputation.

As Margot finds her footing in a town where everybody knows not only your name, but what you had for dinner last Saturday night and what you’ll wear to church on Sunday morning, she grudgingly has to admit that there are some things Lake Sackett does better than Chicago—including the dating prospects. Elementary school principal Kyle Archer is a fellow fish-out-of-water who volunteers to show Margot the picture-postcard side of Southern living. The two of them hit it off, but not everybody is happy to see an outsider snapping up one of the town’s most eligible gentleman. Will Margot reel in her handsome fish, or will she have to release her latest catch?

Review

Margot considers herself the best of the best when it comes to party planning. As a matter of fact, she is going to make partner! UNTIL….the flamingos and shrimp! OMG! You have to read the book to believe it! This was the first scene in the book and it had me in stitches.

Margot makes the biggest faux paus ever. She loses her job and all that’s left for her is the McCready Funeral Home and Bait shop! Yes, you heard me, McCready Funeral Home and Bait Shop! Now how southern is that. If you live in the south there is one of those on the first dirt road to the left.

Margot falls back to her family she has never met. She feels out of place. But like true southerners, her family takes her in, welcomes her, and teaches her how to drink sweet tea. Then it becomes crunch time. Is she going to stay or has she finally found her place in the world.

This is a fabulous palate cleanser, beach read or whatever read you want. This book hits the spot! This story had me in stitches from the get go! The author totally nailed the snarky comments and the wonderful southern ways. The characters were just that, characters. In the south there are lots of quirky people and the author knew exactly how to portray this. I adored this read and I expect great things from the next book!

I received this novel from Simon and Schuster as part of the #xoxperts.

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Overview

Fiona Davis, author of The Dollhouse, returns with a compelling novel about the thin lines between love and loss, success and ruin, passion and madness, all hidden behind the walls of The Dakota, New York City’s most famous residence.

After a failed apprenticeship, working her way up to head housekeeper of a posh London hotel is more than Sara Smythe ever thought she’d make of herself. But when a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house The Dakota, leads to a job offer, her world is suddenly awash in possibility–no mean feat for a servant in 1884. The opportunity to move to America, where a person can rise above one’s station. The opportunity to be the female manager of The Dakota, which promises to be the greatest apartment house in the world. And the opportunity to see more of Theo, who understands Sara like no one else . . . and is living in The Dakota with his wife and three young children.

In 1985, Bailey Camden is desperate for new opportunities. Fresh out of rehab, the former party girl and interior designer is homeless, jobless, and penniless. Two generations ago, Bailey’s grandfather was the ward of famed architect Theodore Camden. But the absence of a genetic connection means Bailey won’t see a dime of the Camden family’s substantial estate. Instead, her -cousin- Melinda–Camden’s biological great-granddaughter–will inherit almost everything. So when Melinda offers to let Bailey oversee the renovation of her lavish Dakota apartment, Bailey jumps at the chance, despite her dislike of Melinda’s vision. The renovation will take away all the character and history of the apartment Theodore Camden himself lived in . . . and died in, after suffering multiple stab wounds by a madwoman named Sara Smythe, a former Dakota employee who had previously spent seven months in an insane asylum on Blackwell’s Island.

One hundred years apart, Sara and Bailey are both tempted by and struggle against the golden excess of their respective ages–for Sara, the opulence of a world ruled by the Astors and Vanderbilts; for Bailey, the free-flowing drinks and cocaine in the nightclubs of New York City–and take refuge and solace in the Upper West Side’s gilded fortress. But a building with a history as rich–and often tragic–as The Dakota’s can’t hold its secrets forever, and what Bailey discovers in its basement could turn everything she thought she knew about Theodore Camden–and the woman who killed him–on its head.

With rich historical detail, nuanced characters, and gorgeous prose, Fiona Davis once again delivers a compulsively readable novel that peels back the layers of not only a famed institution, but the lives –and lies–of the beating hearts within.

Review

Bailey is struggling. She is finally out of rehab and about to really get her life together. Not as easy as it sounds. She lost her job as a designer, she has no place to live and she has no money. She falls back on her family…well, maybe not her family by blood (need to read the book!) Melinda, her “maybe” cousin gives her a job redecorating her apartment in the historical building, The Dakota.

This novel follows two storylines, Bailey set in 1985 and Sara set in 1884. Sara’s storyline is essential to following Bailey’s troubled life. I admired Sara. She is tough and hard-working. However, her story is a tale of mistakes which leads to a tragic outcome. The mystery of Bailey’s family past impacts her future.

I adored the setting of this read. The time periods and the historical building make for a very eclectic story. This book is not without problems. There are places where the conversations are stilted or a little canned. Plus, I hated Melinda. And sometimes the plot is a little “too convenient”. However, I am still giving it a five star rating. I loved the history and the mystery. I take great pleasure in a book which has me doing research and I was all over researching this building and the architecture.

I enjoyed many aspects of this read, the mystery of the trunks in the basement, the small historical details about NYC, oh….and don’t forget the insane asylum with the cameo appearance of Nellie Bly. This book is super fascinating and I cannot wait to read The Dollhouse

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review.

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Overview

From the bestselling author of All Is Not Forgotten comes a thriller about two missing sisters, a twisted family, and what happens when one girl comes back…

One night three years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma. Three years later, Cass returns, without her sister Emma. Her story is one of kidnapping and betrayal, of a mysterious island where the two were held. But to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter, something doesn’t add up. Looking deep within this dysfunctional family Dr. Winter uncovers a life where boundaries were violated and a narcissistic parent held sway. And where one sister’s return might just be the beginning of the crime.

Review

This is twisted!! That’s the only way I know how to describe this novel, COMPLETELY TWISTED!

Emma and her sister,Cass, have disappeared. Three years later Cass returns home with a strange story about her and Emma’s whereabouts. I really do not want to get into more of the story than that. I will give something away. And believe me….you do not want to know about it till you read it!

A large amount of research went into this novel. I learned a great deal about narcissistic behavior and its effects on a family. The coping mechanisms of a family member to survive this disorder are incredible.

I have no words to describe the creativity of Wendy Walker. She can come up with some psycho characters and tales which take a long time to get over. Her first novel, All is Not Forgotten, was a five star read for me. You can find my review here. Just like this book….I did not want to give the story away. You must read these novels, especially if you love psychological thrillers.

The story bogs down a little for me in the middle. This is the only reason I did not give a five star read. But the twist at the end……oh my my! “What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” – Walter Scott

“I could feel the scream inside me.  I had felt it that morning when I had to cover my mouth with a pillow so no one would hear.” – Emma in the Night

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review.

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Overview

In this riveting and richly drawn novel from “one of the master storytellers of historical fiction” (New York Times bestseller Beatriz Williams), a talented young artist flees New York for Paris after one of her scandalous drawings reveals a dark secret—and triggers a terrible tragedy.

In the wake of a dark and brutal World War, the glitz and glamour of 1925 Manhattan shine like a beacon for the high society set, which is desperate to keep their gaze firmly fixed to the future. But Delphine Duplessi sees more than most. At a time in her career when she could easily be unknown and penniless, like so many of her classmates from L’École de Beaux Arts, in America she has gained notoriety for her stunning “shadow portraits” that frequently expose her subjects’ most scandalous secrets—for better or for worse. Most nights Delphine doesn’t mind that her gift has become mere entertainment—a party trick—for the fashionable crowd. Though her ancestor La Lune, the legendary sixteenth-century courtesan and—like Delphine—a witch, might have thought differently.

Then, on a snowy night in February, in a penthouse high above Fifth Avenue, Delphine’s mystical talent leads to a tragedy between two brothers. Horrified, she renounces her gift.

Devastated and disconsolate, Delphine returns to her old life in the south of France where Picasso, Matisse, and the Fitzgeralds are summering. There, Delphine is thrust into recapturing the past. First by her charismatic twin brother and business manager Sebastian in his attempts to cajole her back to work and into co-dependence, then by the world famous opera singer Emma Calvé, who is obsessed with the centuries-old Book of Abraham, written by the fourteenth-century alchemist Nicolas Flamel. And finally by her ex-lover Mathieu, who is determined to lure her back into his arms, unaware of the danger that had led Delphine to flee Paris for New York five years before.

Trapped in an ancient chateau where hidden knowledge lurks in the shadows, Delphine questions and in many ways rejects what and who she loves the most—her art, her magick, her family, her brother, and Mathieu—as she tries to finally accept them as the gifts they are and to shed her fear of loving and living with her eyes wide open.

Review

Delphine has a rare talent. She sees secrets. Not only does she see someone's secret she can draw that secret for all to witness. These are her shadow portraits. Her fame grows and she makes her living as entertainment at parties. Her life is going great. She has a fiancé and makes her own money. Until, one of her paintings is so scandalous it leads to tragedy.

Delphine is an amazing character. She is smart and creative. She can be a little dramatic and she is very dependent on her brother. Oh, did I mention her brother is her twin? He really uses this to his advantage in many ways. He is determined to use Delphine's unique talent to find an ancient book by Nicolas Flamel.

The story revolves around finding this ancient book. Delphine mystically paints all these ancient rooms in the chateau. These rooms and their history kept me captivated. I felt like I was finding buried treasure! Then the TWIST! No one does a twist like M.J. Rose.

I love M.J. Rose. She has been a favorite of mine for quite a while. Her books just take you everywhere. I enjoy how she weaves history and mysticism throughout her stories! It's such an adventure to read her creative novels.

This is the third book in this series. I will say it is probably my least favorite of the three. But, I still loved it!! It was just predictable in places. (This is my problem with series).

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review.

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